To Wonderland
by Trumpeteer34
Summary: "What's it like there? In Wonderland?" the Scarecrow had asked. "I could show you if you'd like," the Mad Hatter had replied.
1. Down the Rabbit Hole

I do not own any of the characters. They belong to DC Comics. "Alice in Wonderland" belongs to Lewis Carroll. This was written purely for fun.

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><p>It had been an innocent question. Just six words strung together in an inquisitive manner. He hadn't expected the answer he was given.<p>

Jonathan Crane had finished up his work for the time being and went to seek out his guest, who had decided to drop by an hour or two ago. That time had passed in silence, which was vaguely strange, considering just who his guest was.

The Scarecrow found the Mad Hatter on the sofa in the main area of his hideout. The tea-loving man was sitting in a very relaxed position, his arms crossed loosely over his chest and his head bowed. His infamous top hat was resting on the cushion next to him. Jonathan noticed his eyes were closed, but knew that the Englishman wasn't sleeping. He was off daydreaming again, swept away into a world of fantasy.

Jonathan studied the blond man for a moment longer. "What's it like there?" he asked.

Jervis Tetch opened his blue eyes and blinked before he glanced over at the auburn-haired man standing across the room. An eyebrow lifted and he gave his friend a questioning stare.

"…in Wonderland?" Jonathan elaborated. Jervis spent so much time in his head; one was bound to become curious just where the Mad Hatter spent said time.

Jervis shrugged casually. "I could show you if you'd like," he replied nonchalantly.

_That _was not the answer Jonathan had expected. He felt his eyes widen slightly. He had expected the Englishman to begin raving about all things Carroll and of Alice in her many adventures. He most certainly didn't expect an invitation to see for himself. "Wha—?"

An enormous grin quickly spread across the Hatter's face. "Yes!" he exclaimed as he straightened on the sofa. "I could take you there!" His hands balled up in excitement and he jumped to his feet. He faced the startled Scarecrow in a fit of energy. "What a frabjous idea! I could guide you around Wonderland, Jonathan! Oh, the fun we'll have! You'll get to meet Cheshire Puss and the Dodo! The Duchess and the Queen of Hearts!" He was practically bouncing with excitement.

As Jervis continued ranting about all the adventures they'd have, Jonathan tried to decline the offer with little success. For starters, he didn't want to do any of the stuff Jervis was listing off. Secondly, he wasn't sure how Jervis in his twisted mind thought he was going to whisk Jonathan away into one of his daydreams. "Jervis, calm down," he said.

"…and then have a Caucus-race, and then—"

"_Jervis," _Jonathan repeated firmly. The ecstatic blond man finally stopped talking to stare at the Scarecrow. He still looked beyond enthusiastic. "Jervis, I don't want to go to Wonderland."

The blond man's grin faltered. "But you asked," Jervis said in a half-disappointed tone, his shoulders slumping. All of that energy from a few seconds ago vanished just as quickly as it had appeared.

"No," Crane insisted, as if he was speaking to a child, "I asked what it was like."

"And _I_ said I could show you," Jervis pressed. A small smile returned to his face. "It'd be much easier to show you than to explain it."

Crane knew he would regret this, but he couldn't keep his curiosity at bay. "And how would you manage to show me one of your _daydreams_?" He felt absurd just for asking such a ridiculous question.

The smile widened into a grin as he reached into his sleeve.

When he pulled out one of his mind-control circuitry cards, Jonathan instantly began shaking his head. "Absolutely not."

"Oh, come now, Jonathan," Jervis pleaded. "I've told the March Hare all about you; I know he'd just love to meet you."

"I am _not_ going to willingly let you control my mind, Jervis," Jonathan shot back in outright refusal.

"But I wouldn't be controlling your mind!" Jervis explained hurriedly. "You'd be in complete control of yourself. I'll only have control of the environment." He started to fiddle with the circuitry card in his hands. "Do you honestly think I'd card you with the intention of controlling you?"

"You certainly wouldn't ask first," Jonathan retorted dryly.

"Precisely!" Jervis exclaimed, oblivious to the Scarecrow's comment. He gave his friend a pleading look. "Please, Jonathan? No need to be worried. I do this rather regularly on myself."

_'That's hardly reassuring,'_ Jonathan thought to himself, but held his tongue. He felt his mouth draw back in a frown at Jervis's pleading stare. He knew he'd never hear the end of it if he didn't let Jervis do this. He might as well spare himself the headache. Still, the thought of putting his mind in Jervis's hands made him anxious.

Jervis saw his friend's concerns written all over his face. "I'll stop as soon as you give the word. I promise," he said sincerely. "Let me at least show you a little bit of Wonderland. Please?"

He wasn't sure what he was thinking or what possessed him in that moment. Jonathan's shoulders slumped as a sigh escaped from him. "I'm going to hold you to that promise," he said at length.

The grin that appeared on the Hatter's face could have easily rivaled the Cheshire Cat's. "You won't regret this!" he declared cheerfully.

_'Then why am I already regretting this?'_ Jonathan thought with a disheartened sigh. If anything, this was going to be interesting; there would be no denying that.

Jervis scooped up his hat in a graceful twirl and placed it atop his head. He began waving at the armchair to Crane's left. "Go ahead and sit down and get relaxed," he said giddily. As Jonathan slowly moved toward the chair, Jervis bought the mind-control card up to his face to study it. "Now, this may be a little jarring at first, but I assure you, you'll be fine. It will almost feel like a lucid dream."

"And I _will_ have complete control of myself?" Jonathan pressed as he sat down.

"Of course," Jervis reassured him with a smile. He twirled the piece of technology in his fingers as he watched Jonathan get comfortable. "Are you ready?"

"As ready as I'll ever be," Jonathan grumbled.

"Good. Close your eyes." As Crane reluctantly did as instructed, Jervis approached the armchair. "Meet you in Wonderland," he said before he slipped the card behind Jonathan's ear.

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><p>AN: This is something fun I'm working on while I try to figure out what I'm doing with the next chapter of "Welcome to Arkham." I already have plans made for a little further on...but I just need to figure out what to do with this next blasted chapter!

Anyway, I thought it'd be fun to get Jonathan Crane's reaction to things in Wonderland. Expect some strange things and an adventure between two unlikely friends. This is going to be fun.

Feedback is always welcome. Thanks for reading!


	2. A Grin Without a Cat

I do not own any of the characters. They belong to DC Comics and Lewis Carroll. "Alice in Wonderland" belongs to Lewis Carroll. This was written purely for fun.

Also, quotes are italicized. Enjoy!

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><p>Jonathan Crane opened his eyes and was nearly blinded by the sunlight. He brought up a hand to shield his eyes from the harsh light and had a look around. He found himself standing on a low-rising hill on the edge of a forest. The gentle breezes in the air made the grass around him dance, lightly tapping against his boots. In the distance, he could see the grass disappear into a sandy shore with a wide sea beyond. There wasn't a building in sight.<p>

He most certainly wasn't in Gotham anymore.

Crane lowered his arm to his side once his eyes had adjusted and took in this new environment. It appeared that he was the only one in this strange new land. He could feel wind brushing across his face and rustling his clothing. The smell of salt carried on the breeze, mixing and mingling with the scent of pine from the forest behind him. The sound of straw rubbing against straw became apparent, making Jonathan's mind halt. He had a look down at himself to find he was in his Scarecrow costume. He raised a hand to his face; he was certain that he could feel the wind against his skin.

His fingers were met with the rough texture of burlap, but somewhere in his mind he knew he was touching his face. It was a bizarre feeling, one that left him more confused than concerned.

He lowered his hand again and took another look around.

"_'Your hair wants cutting,'_" came a familiar voice from behind him.

The Scarecrow turned and glanced over his shoulder at Jervis. The Mad Hatter was in his full costume, leaned against a tree with a content grin on his face.

"Is there a reason why I'm in costume?" Jonathan asked as Jervis approached him from the forest's edge. He decided not to question the Englishman's sudden appearance.

The Hatter shrugged. "It's best that way. Here, I am the Mad Hatter, and you are the Scarecrow. No sense in speaking true names, eh? That's half the fun of escaping from reality," he said with a bucktoothed grin.

"Whatever," Jonathan said before beginning to look around again.

Jervis gazed about for a moment before he reached into a pocket. As he pulled out a ring of at least a dozen keys, he turned on his heel and began walking back toward the forest. "Where would you like to go?" he asked as lazily flipped from one key to the next.

Crane slowly began to follow the Hatter into the wooded area, his eyes ever on the move. This was all rather difficult to wrap his head around. He had no idea that the mind-control chip would allow everything to feel this real. There were sights and sounds, which were to be expected, but there were also feelings and smells. He hadn't been anticipating all of this to feel so vivid. He felt hypersensitive to everything; everything looked sharper, smelled stronger, felt over exaggerated. All of the colors seemed brighter. It was disorienting.

"I don't know," he said at long last. "How about we go meet your March Hare?"

"Not yet," Jervis replied. He turned to give Jonathan a brief smile. "I'm saving the best for last."

Jonathan gave him a dull look. "Alright then. Where do you suggest we go?"

_"'That depends a good deal on where you want to get to,'"_ came an eerie voice from overhead.

The Scarecrow glanced up to an overhanging branch of a nearby tree and beheld a cat. The feline was lying across the limb casually, staring down at the two of them with a wide grin on his face. Its tail swayed from side to side casually.

"Cheshire Puss!" the Hatter greeted him cheerfully. The cat's grin seemed to grow even wider, if that was even possible. Jervis turned to the lanky man beside him and gestured at the cat in the tree with a broad wave of his gloved hand. "Scarecrow, this is the Cheshire Cat."

_'I never would have guessed,'_ Jonathan mused sarcastically to himself as he continued staring up at the cat grinning down at him. The Cheshire Cat met his stare evenly, not blinking once as Jervis continued the introduction.

"How are you on this most frabjous day, Cheshire Puss?" the Hatter asked of the freakish feline. "Not causing any trouble, I should hope?"

The Cheshire Cat's eyes finally left the Scarecrow to return to the Englishman in a fixed stare. "What kind of trouble?" the Cat asked in a mischievous tone.

"Oh, you know," Jervis contemplated, waving a hand about carelessly, "the kind that could shorten you by a head."

The Cheshire Cat let out a chuckle. "Ah, _that_ kind of trouble. I'm afraid not, Hatter." The Cat glanced back at Jonathan. _"'Do you play croquet with the Queen today?'"_

Before Jonathan could think of a proper response, Jervis clapped his hands together and turned to him. "Croquet! You simply _must_ play croquet!" The Mad Hatter whirled back around to the cat in the tree, an excited grin on his face. "Shall we see you there, then?"

The feline's grin widened once more and he offered a single nod. _"'You'll see me there,'"_ the Cheshire Cat replied coolly.

The Hatter returned his attention to his guest. "Let's go!"

The blond man took off down the dirt path before Jonathan had a chance to say anything. The Scarecrow simply stared after him for a long moment before he glanced back up to where the Cheshire Cat was perched. He was mildly started to see just a toothy grin floating in place where the feline had been. His eyes lingered on the curious sight for a moment longer before he turned to follow Jervis.

The trees in his peripheral vision seemed to flatten out as he walked, turning the forest into a lengthy hall of painted trees. The effect was dizzying, to be honest, but Jonathan kept walking on the unchanging path. He glanced around himself when the trees dimmed into nothingness. He gave the blank walls a queer look before he peered over his shoulder. The painted walls he had just walked by had vanished; the corridor continued on forever behind him.

The soft metallic _clink_-ing of keys made him turn back around. He found the Hatter standing in front of a door that had most certainly not been there before. Jervis pulled open the door and had a peek inside the room beyond the doorway. He huffed in mild irritation and closed the door with a little too much force. "I am _not_ introducing you to Bill," he muttered before he moved on to the next door.

Jonathan approached the Hatter. The further on he walked, the more doors seemed to spring into existence. It was all very confusing. He was beginning to think it wouldn't have made any difference if the blond man had explained any of this to him. He couldn't make any sense out of anything.

"Have you ever played croquet before, Scarecrow?" the Mad Hatter asked his guest as he moved on to another door, breaking the lanky man from his thoughts.

"I can't say I have," Jonathan replied, keeping pace with the Englishman.

"This shall be quite the experience, then," Jervis replied with a smile.

He pulled open the door just enough to peek through. A wide grin crossed his face. "Here we are!" he declared cheerfully before he pushed the door open further. A blinding white light instantly engulfed the Hatter and blinded Jonathan.

"Come, come, Scarecrow!" came the Hatter's voice in the whiteness. Jonathan felt gloved fingers gently wrap around his wrist.

He was pulled through the threshold.

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><p>AN: More to come in about a week. I'm planning on updating this story either Wednesdays or Thursdays every week, depending on my school schedule.

I hope you enjoyed! Feedback is always welcome. Thank you for reading!


	3. Flamingos and Hedgehogs

I do not own any of the characters. They belong to DC Comics and Lewis Carroll. "Alice in Wonderland" belongs to Lewis Carroll. This was written purely for fun.

Also, quotes are italicized. Enjoy!

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><p>The blinding whiteness started to ebb away as Jonathan's eyes began to adjust to the scenery change. He blinked several times to clear his vision and he shook Jervis's hand from his wrist. "A little warning would have been nice," he grumbled to the Hatter.<p>

"My apologies, my dearest Scarecrow," Jervis replied cheerfully from somewhere to his right. "It takes a little getting used to."

Jonathan muttered something inaudible under his breath as his vision returned. They were standing at the entrance to a huge garden. Flowers of all shapes and colors dotted the beds, the colors so bright they hurt Jonathan's eyes. Great walls of hedges stood everywhere. The sound of splashing water came from beyond one of these hedge walls. When he looked behind him he found no trace of a door.

"I bet you'd like the Caterpillar," he heard Jervis think aloud. When he glanced back over at the shorter man, the Hatter was studying a small group of mushrooms beside one of the flowerbeds. "…but I don't think you're ready for height changes." He turned and grinned up at the Scarecrow. "Maybe some other time," he said cheerfully.

Jonathan stared down at the excited madman and kept his thoughts to himself. He shook his head and began looking around again. "So where are we now?"

"Why, Her Majesty, the Queen of Hearts' gardens, of course," the Hatter replied.

"Of course," Jonathan said flatly. "How foolish of—"

"Oh dear," Jervis lamented. His crisp blue eyes were locked on a flowering tree to his right. "They've planted more white rose trees… The Queen will have a fit!" He turned back to Jonathan and leaned in. "She has a temper that would put everyone in Arkham to shame," he disclosed in a low voice, a gloved hand cupped around his mouth.

Now that _did_ sound impressive.

Jervis took one last look at the white roses and huffed. "Two, Five, and Seven had best start painting those roses if they wish to keep their heads today." He shrugged and glanced back up at Jonathan. "I think we ought to have you practice a bit before we begin the game."

The Scarecrow could find no reason to argue. "Alright," he said.

The Hatter grinned and began to lead his guest through the gardens. As they walked, the Englishman made comments about certain flowers in certain flowerbeds. The flowers themselves seemed to watch them as they passed, their petals following their movements. They rounded one of the hedge walls and came upon a fountain. In the mist that came off of the splashing water was a shimmering rainbow, dancing in the sunlight. Jonathan found himself marveling in just how real everything felt again when he actually felt the cool mist hitting his face.

"Here we are!" Jervis announced triumphantly as they rounded another hedge.

Jonathan found himself standing on the edge of a very uneven lawn. There were areas where the ground dipped and others that rose abruptly, creating a great many hills and valleys in the game field. Jonathan felt himself quirk an eyebrow. "Are you sure this is it?"

"Absolutely!" Jervis declared. "Why do you ask?"

The Scarecrow lowered his eyes to the Hatter standing beside him, giving him a questioning stare. He glanced back to the rough terrain. "Well, it looks a bit, oh I don't know…_uneven_," he said deliberately.

The small Englishman studied the lawn with a scrutinizing eye. "_'It isn't so,'_" he finally said at length.

Jonathan gave him a demeaning look before his eyes returned to the stretch of land in front of them. "It most certainly is."

"_'Contrariwise,'_" Jervis began, "_'if it was so, it might be; and if it were so, it would be; but as it isn't, it ain't.'_" He paused only to lift an index finger and give the lanky man a sage-like look. "_'That's logic.'_"

A length of silence filled the air between them before the Scarecrow sighed in defeat. He should have known better than to argue about something with the Mad Hatter in Wonderland. He allowed his eyes to roam over the lawn, uneven or otherwise, wondering how anyone could play _anything_ on such a playing field. He hadn't noticed that Jervis had wandered off.

"Here's your flamingo."

"My what—?" He was cut short when Jervis thrust a bright pink bird into his arms. It was all he could do not to drop the living creature. The flamingo craned its neck and stared Jonathan in the face, giving him a dull look.

When Jonathan's eyes shot to Jervis, he found the blond man with a flamingo of his own, its body tucked gently beneath an arm. The bird's long neck lay across his shoulders, its bright pink head resting against his blue overcoat.

The Hatter was grinning up at his guest. "Your flamingo. How else do you plan on playing croquet?" he asked with a light laugh. He gestured down toward the ground. "The hedgehogs are ready whenever you are."

The Scarecrow glanced down to see the two little animals at their feet, rolled up into tight balls.

As Jonathan continued to stare down at the hedgehogs, the Hatter set his flamingo down on its tall legs. The bird was a few inches shorter than the blond man, its body coming up to his abdomen and its neck easily reaching his shoulders. "Now," he began as he propped his elbows up upon the flamingo's back, leaning on the bird as he would a table, "normally we'd have arches on the field. What you want to do is hit your hedgehog through the arches." Jervis gestured toward one of the elevations of land. "Let's pretend that that ridge over there is an arch. Aim toward that."

Jonathan glanced toward the ridge Jervis was pointing at. His eyes narrowed slightly when he realized that Jervis had just acknowledged the uneven landscape, despite denying it a few minutes ago. He rolled his eyes and decided not to bring it up, lest he be subjected to more quotes.

He gave the flamingo in his arms a queer look, one that the large feathered beast returned.

"Go on," Jervis encouraged him, "before your hedgehog runs off."

When the Scarecrow gazed over his shoulder at the Hatter, the Englishman offered him a bucktoothed grin and gestured toward the same ridge again, this time with more vigor.

If the situation wasn't absolutely ridiculous, he would have felt completely foolish. He realized that he had to just embrace the madness around him, the sheer absurdity of it all, to make any sense of what was going on around him. There would be no one to ridicule him; the only other person around was the Hatter, and he certainly didn't find any of this strange.

Jonathan maneuvered the pink bird in his arms, cautious so as to not upset the flamingo. The bird didn't put up a fight; it allowed itself to be held awkwardly with its head dipping toward the ground. The Scarecrow was beginning to wonder if the bird was drugged, or if it being used as a croquet mallet was so commonplace that it didn't even seem to notice anymore. His eyes traveled down to the hedgehogs when he got a good hold on the flamingo.

Oh, the fit Selina Kyle would be giving them if she could see this.

With his eyes trained on the ridge that Jervis had pointed out, he used the flamingo's head as a mallet, striking the hedgehog and sending the creature rolling. The little animal travelled over hills and through valleys before slowing to a stop right at the base of the ridge.

Jonathan stared at the stationary hedgehog with startled eyes, surprised he had managed to hit his target. A length of silence passed before he heard Jervis let out an incredulous laugh.

"That was quite good!" the Hatter complimented his guest. When Jonathan gazed back at him, the blond man was still leaned against his flamingo, but with a hand upon his hip. Jervis stared on, looking impressed. His crisp blue orbs shifted and he gestured toward a different part of the field. "Try hitting the other one that way, to that valley there!"

The Scarecrow glanced down at the other hedgehog, still coiled in a tight ball at his feet. He judged the distance and readied the flamingo in his arms. The bird's head collided with the little creature and sent it moving across the lawn. Over hills and into valleys it went, only to stop at in the valley Jervis has specified.

He heard the Hatter laugh again behind him. "I say, Scarecrow, you're rather good at this!" Jervis grinned when the lanky man's eyes met his. "Are you sure you've never played before?"

Jonathan's eyes went to his flamingo, to the hedgehogs across the lawn, and then finally back to Jervis. "I'm sure," was all he could think to say.

The Hatter let out a lighthearted chuckle. "I daresay this game will be quite the challenge." He began to glance behind him, toward where the hedges rose. "Now to find some arches…"

As Jervis trailed off, the Scarecrow set his flamingo down on its elongated legs. His eyes lifted to where the hedgehogs were, watching as they unrolled themselves and began to scuttle away—

A sudden blare of trumpets shattered the serene air, sending both flamingos off in a panic. Jonathan nearly jumped out of his skin. He whirled around to the Hatter, who was staring to his left with an apprehensive look written upon his features.

Jonathan followed the Hatters gaze to find a stack of life-sized playing cards marching toward them. He knew exactly what was coming.

"Oh dear…" Jervis said quietly. He sounded both excited and worried all at once. "The Queen of Hearts…"

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><p>AN: This one was a lot of fun to write. Jervis's interactions with his flamingo left me smiling. So did writing the conversations between these two fine gentlemen.

Feedback is always welcome. Thanks for reading!


	4. Croquet with the Queen

I do not own any of the characters. They belong to DC Comics and Lewis Carroll. "Alice in Wonderland" belongs to Lewis Carroll. This was written purely for fun.

Also, quotes are italicized. Enjoy!

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><p>The Mad Hatter and the Scarecrow remained where they stood, simply staring at the approaching group of life-sized playing cards. Ten soldiers carrying clubs came first, shooing any of the gardeners with their spades out of the way. Following them were a collection of red-clad cards, dressed handsomely in diamonds. They led the ten royal children, all adorned in hearts and skipping merrily along. Behind them, with a great triumphant call from a trumpet, came their Graces, the King and Queen of Hearts.<p>

"Scarecrow," came a hushed and frantic voice. Jonathan looked down to see Jervis standing right beside him, looking up at him with worried eyes. "Scarecrow, please don't do anything to upset Her Majesty. You need to bow to her to stay her ravenous temper. Please, Scarecrow."

Jonathan stared down at Jervis and quirked an eyebrow at the pleading request. A mischievous smirk twisted his lips.

Jervis groaned, already sensing trouble between the foul-tempered Queen and his devious friend.

Before he had a chance to say more, they were approached by the King and Queen of Hearts. The Mad Hatter swept off his hat and bowed low. "Your Majesty," he said in an overly-cheerful voice.

As he righted himself and put his hat back on, the Queen of Hearts turned and gave Jonathan a scrutinizing look. "_'Who is this?'_" she asked curtly.

Crane's eyes narrowed and he opened his mouth to reply, but was quickly cut off. "Your Graces," the Hatter began in a hurried manner, "allow me to introduce my good friend, the Scarecrow." He grinned up at the lanky man; Jonathan's ever-perceptive eyes noted the nervousness the blond man was trying to hide behind his smile. "Scarecrow, may I introduce to you their Graces, the King and Queen of Hearts."

The King of Hearts smiled at Jonathan. "A pleasure," he said politely.

The Scarecrow glanced back at the Queen, who was looking disapprovingly at him. "I'm sure," he said coolly.

A tense moment passed between the lanky man and fuming woman before the King of Hearts tenderly took her arm and led her away. Jervis grabbed the Scarecrow's sleeve and dragged him away out of earshot, muttering under his breath.

"Are you _trying_ to lose your head?" Tetch asked in a frantic and hushed voice.

Jonathan forcefully yanked his arm from the Hatter's grasp. He glanced over toward where the King and Queen of Hearts were sharing a few quiet words of their own before he looked back down at the Englishman at his side. "I was just making pleasant conversation," he replied with a sarcastic smirk.

The blond man gave him a displeased glare. "See here, Scarecrow, you're going to get yourself in a heap of trouble if you—"

"What _are_ you two whispering about?" the Queen of Hearts interrupted them from afar, glaring at them with a suspicious look on her face.

A wide grin instantly spread across the Mad Hatter's face as he peered around the Scarecrow over at the Queen. "_'Nothing_,_'_" he answered happily.

The Queen's eyes narrowed. "_'Nothing __**whatever**__?'_"

"_'Nothing whatever_,_'_" the Hatter reassured her.

The response seemed to satisfy the temperamental woman and she turned back to her husband.

As Jervis breathed a quiet sigh of relief, Jonathan peered back down at him. "Why are you so afraid of her?" the lanky man asked. It was strange; back in the real world, Jervis had been so eager to introduce him to this life-sized playing card. Now that he was here, the Englishman seemed nothing but fearful of the Queen.

"Let me put it this way, Scarecrow," Jervis responded in a low voice, "if the Queen always had her way, there would be no one left living in Wonderland by the end of chapter one."

Jonathan felt his eyebrow rise at the strange explanation, but he understood well enough. Still, what he didn't understand was—

"_'Can you play croquet?'_!" came a sudden shout from across the lawn, making Jervis jump slightly. They both turned to find the Queen of Hearts staring at them, holding one of their flamingos and looking impatient.

Jervis leaned over toward Jonathan. "Say 'yes'," he whispered.

Crane's eyes fell to the blond man for only a moment before he gazed back to the Queen. "I suppose," he replied casually. He felt Jervis tense beside him.

"_'Come on, then!'_" the Queen roared. She turned and began barking orders to the cards adorned in clubs. Some of them scrambled off to find flamingos and hedgehogs while the others sprinted to the field to play the part of the arches.

Jervis let out a long-held breath of air once the Queen had turned her attention to her soldiers. He smiled up at Jonathan, looking almost genuinely cheerful again, and straightened his hat. "Come along, Scarecrow! This shall be quite a treat!"

Jonathan remained stationary for a moment as the blond man scuttled off before following. His mind went back to his ponderings on the Hatter's behavior toward the Queen. He remained distracted with these thoughts as he watched the soldiers use their bodies to create the arches Jervis had been telling him about earlier. Another flamingo was shoved into his arms by the merry Hatter.

It wasn't long before Jonathan couldn't concentrate on his thoughts as the game got under way. He had never seen a more chaotic sport in all his life. For starters, there weren't enough hedgehogs for the number of players. The players were running here and there, quarreling with each other loudly over the limited supply of hedgehogs. The loudest of the croquet players was by far the Queen of Hearts, calling for executions every minute or so. This clamor seemed to frighten the flamingos and soon the pink birds were trying terribly hard to get away from the noise. That only seemed to fuel the anger of the players and the noise only grew louder. It was a never-ending cycle of noise and fright. Jonathan had lost his flamingo when it started flapping desperately to get away. He had let it fly off without even attempting to restrain it and opted to just stand back and observe the rapidly deteriorating game of croquet.

"Scarecrow, you lost your flamingo," came the Englishman's voice.

Jonathan turned and found Jervis standing next to him, his blue eyes on the uneven playing field and watching the madness unfold. "Does this happen often?" the lanky man asked his host.

"What?" Jervis inquired innocently, ducking to avoid a flamingo that flew straight at his head. He righted himself and glanced up at his guest.

The Scarecrow's gaze lingered on the Hatter for a moment longer before he looked back across the field. "Never mind." He kept his thoughts to himself as they both watched playing cards, hedgehogs, and flamingos race around the rough terrain. Hearts, diamonds, and clubs mixed together in a dizzying kaleidoscope of black and red.

As Jervis continued to watch the headache-inducing madness, Jonathan returned to his previous thoughts. Why would Jervis create an environment where he was afraid of this tyrant of hearts? The Englishman could just as easily ensure that he never ran into the Queen; this was _his daydream._ He wondered if he just wanted to keep her in character according to the book, but why would he ever subject himself to something that obviously scares him? He had complete control over everything here, who he ran into and how they behaved. He found himself glancing down at the blond man, trying to find answers to his questions, trying to bring sense into this chaos.

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><p>AN: Sorry this is coming out a few days late. The rest of the chapters will probably start coming out on either Sundays or Mondays from here-on-out. Schoolwork is starting to catch up with me.

A lot of the descriptions are based very heavily on Chapter 8 of "Alice in Wonderland," aptly titled "The Queen's Croquet Ground." The order of the arriving cards and the chaotic description of the croquet game come from that. I found the book version to be far more entertaining for this fiction than the Disney version.

I've been looking forward to writing the next chapter since starting this piece. Hee hee hee, oh, it'll be fun.

Feedback is always welcome! Thanks for reading!


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